Many pneumatic multiplexers operate in a stepwise rather than continuous manner. Because pneumatic fluids (e.g., air) are compressible, a certain amount of time is required for the pressure at the multiplexer output to stabilize. That is, the pressure at the output does not immediately equal the pressure at the input. The step intervals are designed to be sufficient to enable the output pressure to reach its steady state value.
In pneumatic multiplexers, a rotor may be used to selectively channel fluid from a plurality of inputs to a single output which may be connected to, for example, a pressure transducer. Pneumatic multiplexers may be used to, for example, measure the pressure at a number of pickup points using a single pressure transducer. When used to measure the pressure of a compressible fluid (e.g., air), the pressure of the fluid at the sensor must reach an equilibrium state before the pressure transducer output is valid.
It would be advantageous to drive the multiplexer rotor at a continuous angular velocity rather than stepping the rotor from one input to the next.